India’s 76% LED bulbs are spurious, flout safety standards: Survey

Oct 30, 2017: A study conducted in four major Indian cities—New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, has revealed that three-fourths of LED bulbs sold in India’s lighting market are spurious as they are non-compliant with government’s consumer safety standards, market research firm Nielsen said in a survey report. About 76% of LED bulb brands and 71% of LED downlighter brands across 200 electrical retail outlets have been found to be non-compliant with consumer safety standards. These non-compliant products would eventually affect energy efficiency in the country.

According to the study conducted by Nielson for ELCOMA (Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers’ Association), these brands violate norms that are mandated for lighting products by the Bureau of Indian Standards, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. According to Sunil Sikka, former President ELCOMA and Havells India, the market share of spurious and non-compliant LED products is steadily increasing.

The study pointed out that these spurious products pose serious safety hazards for consumers. It also leads to significant loss in tax revenues for the government, as these products are illegally manufactured and sold. In particular, Hyderabad does not fare well in terms of compliance with BIS norms.

The study also showed that 48% of LED bulb brands do not mention the manufacturer’s address and 31% brands do not have a manufacturer’s name, which clearly indicates that these brands violate Indian Legal Metrology regulations and are manufactured illegally.

According to ELCOMA data, the total LED market in India is worth Rs 100,000 million, with LED bulbs and downlighters constituting 50% of overall LED market, .

“The large number of non-compliant manufacturers of LED bulbs and downlighters threaten fair competition in the LED lighting market, especially for those companies that are compliant to all mandatory consumer safety standards,” said Rakesh Zutshi, President of ELCOMA and Managing Director, Halonix Technologies Pvt Ltd, in a statement.